Rebound
by Tinyberrypie
Summary: After innocence came the truth, and then the bittersweet love. Wasn't love supposed to be the greatest feeling in the world? Not if you have to hide it. Or in Ashfur's case; deny it. AU fic. BrambleAsh. Slash. Don't like, don't read.


**Rebound - My Fault**

"Will they be okay, Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw looked forward as he watched a black and white tom walk off with his ginger and white she cat accomplice. "I wouldn't worry, Bramblekit. They're mousebrains, but all mousebrains know how to pull themselves out of trouble." When he saw true worry in the little kit's eyes, Ashpaw couldn't help but smile and add, "You shouldn't get all worked up, Swiftpaw and Brightpaw are gonna be fine. They're just dogs. They probably didn't even know cats were different colors."

". . . are you sure?" Bramblekit asked, his amber eyes wide and glowing.

"Yeah," Ashpaw said confidentally. "Swiftpaw's stronger than me. So is Brightpaw. I told you, they got themselves covered."

"They're stronger than you?" Bramblekit inquired, scanning over Ashpaw, and his pale gray fur with black and white speckles, much like his sister, Fernpaw, except the tom had dark blue eyes. Solemn dark blue eyes, much unlike Bramblepaw's gleaming amber eyes.

"Everyone's stronger than me," Ashpaw pointed out sheepishly. "Even Cloudpaw."

"No way," Bramblepaw growled.

"Yes way," Ashpaw purred.

"Roar!" Bramblekit had pounced on Ashpaw. His dark brown tabby fur brushed past the speckled fur, tussling and biting, pretending to finally nip Ashpaw's neck. He raised his head and let out a kitten-like yowl of victory. "Wow, you were right. Are you even trying?" he challenged.

"I'm tired," Ashpaw mewed. "Give me a break."

"So you're always tired during training? Is that why everyone always beats you, or something?" Bramblekit asked. "You gotta try, Ashpaw! I'll never be the best warrior I can be if I'm training on a lifeless mouse!"

"Hey!" Ashpaw growled. "I'm not a lifeless mouse!"

"Are too!" Bramblekit squeaked.

"Oh StarClan."

"What?"

"Mmn." Ashpaw soon purred in amusement. He let his paw knock over Bramblekit into the bushes. As Bramblekit let out a mewl, rolling out and jumping on to his feet, he launched himself at Ashpaw. He chewed on his paw, which Ashpaw yanked back in response. He nosed Bramblekit out of the way, then pinned down the kit. Bramblekit kicked his face, then leaped out of sight. It wasn't long until after he jumped back into battle; he grabbed Ashpaw's nose, pulling forward, and then maneuvering over to the scruff of his neck, biting down on it.

"Haha! I won!" Bramblekit gloated, puffing out his fluffy chest.

"Darn," Ashpaw said in fake disappointment. He gave Bramblekit a smug smile, then sent him toppling into the bushes once again with the whisk of his paw. When Bramblekit didn't come back, he nosed his way into the leaves and twigs. Though he got scraped on the nose, he pushed forward, until the bushes slowly curved outwards, making an opening. He saw Bramblekit standing quite far from where Ashpaw was. They definitely weren't in camp.

"Wow!" Bramblekit meowed in awe. "The forest is so much bigger than I thought!"

"Bramblekit!" Ashpaw hissed, running over to the dark brown tabby kit, picking him up roughly by the scruff. "What are you doing here?"

"Exploring," Bramblekit said, looking around with such ecstasy in his wide, amber eyes. "So this is why Goldenflower wouldn't let me go outside of camp! The trees reach StarClan!"

"Yeah, they do. Now let's get back to camp," Ashpaw growled, slightly worried that the two of them were going to get caught. Surely being caught outside of camp with a kit was going to be seen as sneaking out. He may even get his warrior ceremony postponed.

"Please, can you show me around? Pleeease . . ." Bramblekit whined, stretching out the last word. Ashpaw flattened his ears as Bramblekit's voice started to rise and get louder as he shook his head in response of no. Ashpaw finally sighed.

"Fine. You better not be complaining anymore though. And keep that mouth of yours quiet for once, alright?" Ashpaw asked.

"Okay," Bramblekit mewed merrily, perking up his ears. He began padding off into the dense undergrowth.

"Wait!" Ashpaw felt his feet sink into the mud as he chased after the kit. He pushed through some bushes, the leaves tugging at the mats in his fur and getting stuck in them. He felt dry, dead leaves crunch beneath the pads of his paws, and the breeze pulling his ears back. The sky wasn't blue like it usually was; it was gray, and the clouds were blending in with each other, making it look like one huge cloud. He narrowed his eyes at the gaping, thin ray of sun peeking behind the cloud.

"Come on, Ashpaw!"

Ashpaw narrowed his eyes, then ducked his head as he crawled through a little ceiling of branches and rocks which formed a bridge-like structure above him. His fur was a muddy gray now; and his white speckles were brown speckles. He grimaced in disgust. At least Bramblekit was already brown. He padded forward, right into a large clearing where Bramblekit was pawing at a butterfly. He snorted.

"Oh, hey! You're really slow," Bramblekit meowed casually, continuing to attack the butterfly. "I was about to show you this huge oak tree I fou-"

Suddenly Ashpaw heard growling. There was no chance to spin around. In the blink of an eye, one of the dogs, a lean black dog with brown circles above its eyes and sharp, pointed ears, grabbed Bramblekit by the scruff, growling through clenched teeth. It shook Bramblekit violently, sending him into the bushes. Ashpaw heard him yowl in fear.

The other dog stared at Ashpaw, snarling and foam dripping from its mouth. Ashpaw backed away, hitting a tree. He let out a long growl, then a loud hiss. The dog responded with a charge. Its teeth were in contact with Ashpaw's neck, the foam dripping on to his chest and its eyes large and black. It slowly clamped its sharp canines into Ashpaw's fur, making him yowl. This dog was as heavy as two oak trees combined.

Suddenly the dog let go, then bit down hard on Ashpaw's leg, swinging him across the clearing. Ashpaw let out a moan, feeling like a mere toy. He was too small to fight back. Bramblekit was at the back of his mind, but still he got up, then ran into the bushes where he had last seen the small kit. His leg was uselessly getting dragged as he tried to move himself with his front paws and one back leg. The little kit was curled up at the base of a tree, whimpering as blood ran down one side of his face.

"Bramblekit!" Ashpaw gasped, immediately nuzzling into him. The blood smeared onto his gray muzzle. "What happened?"

"I don't know . . ." Bramblekit cried out, his voice small. Underneath all the blood, there was a long gash reaching from the top of his head, near his ear, down to his chin. "W-when he flung me, my face hit a branch..."

Ashpaw looked up, seeing a branch stained with blood, and fur in the sharp prickles of it. The tip was rather sharp for a branch. It may have not cut too deep, but the gash was still very long. He looked over at Bramblekit's scruff, which was bleeding a little bit. He saw tiny pieces of fur missing from it, but other than that, Bramblekit was okay. Ashpaw began nosing him, and licking the back of his scruff. "We'll get you help, I promise. Yellowfang will take care of you."

Bramblekit only whimpered quietly in response, his head buried in Ashpaw's chest, smearing the blood all over his gray fur.

Ashpaw would never forget that day.

And what a stupid, stupid mistake that was.

* * *

**AN: **Since it's been such a long time since I've seen one, voila, a BrambleXAsh fic! As you can see, it's AU so that I can add some events that are crucial to BrambleAsh. Such as Brambleclaw having a random scar that goes down his head. Oh, don't worry, Ashfur will get hurt too. A lot. Because who are we kidding, we all love violence, right? . . . right? Well . . . yeah. Please R&R and don't like, don't read. Or . . . don't like, don't R&R?


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